We keep hearing of more and more celebrities going either vegetarian or completely vegan. Stars like actress Alicia Silverstone, actor Chris Noth and even The Biggest Loser trainer Bob Harper have moved to greener pastures. Now American Idol winner Rubben Studdard has joined the ranks of the green eaters, and he’s lost 100 pounds in the process!

Rubben appeared on The Wendy Williams Show recently and explained how he first started small by going vegetarian 18 months ago and then going full vegan 12 months later. Although he’s never really had a problem with the way he looked or felt, when he turned 28 the Big Teddy Bear as he’s affectionately known decided that he wanted to change his look completely.

For Wendy’s audience, Rubben explained what vegan cooking and a vegan diet is, as well as how he learned to cook vegan meals because he didn’t want to make himself crazy depriving himself and eating the same old boring meals. The soul singer has even found a few great vegan soul food restaurants in the South. He even bragged about his vegan mac and cheese and greens recipes.

Rubben also works out three days a week with a personal trainer for about 90 minutes.

Former American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee is out promoting her second album, Unbroken. The album is full of good, girl power tunes to get the heart pumping and energy flowing. Last week she spoke about her album and her new fit look. When asked what she does with her trainer she mentioned that they do a variety of things to prevent boredom while training. She explained,

“We do a lot of circuit stuff. Every day is new so i never get bored. I sometimes go hiking [or] running. I live in the LA in the hills so we’ll go up there.”

Other times they may go out to the parking lot and do things like jump lunges, strength training and other heart pumping activities. Katharine also said that she tries to workout with her trainer three to four times a week but on days when she’s on her own she’ll still try to do some cardio. When asked about how she feels since becoming an exerciser Katharine responded,

“I definitely feel like I have more energy just being at the gym consistently.”

She went on to mention that when she doesn’t get to the gym like she should do she can feel her metabolism slowing down and her energy level goes down. And as for her favorite workout and running song on her new album it’s her current single, Had It All.

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Fame and fortune has wrecked many a good body – just look at what happened to former dancer and ex Mr. Britney Spears, Kevin Federline. It seems that the traps of “the good life” spare no one, not even American Idol Fantasia Barrino. Since winning the singing contest in 2004, the 25-year-old has gained 30 pounds. Luckily she’s worked them all off!

Fantasia admitted while she was starring in the Broadway version of The Colour Purple she often indulged in fried chicken and ice cream to get her through the late nights. It didn’t take too long for the Idol to balloon from a size 6 to a size 12. But when the singer reached that low point in her life, compounded by other personal and financial setbacks, she decided to do something about it.

In late 2008, Fantasia signed up for a bootcamp in Atlanta and exercised for up to two hours a day. Her diet consisted of grilled fish and vegetables and she drank up to a gallon of water a day.

Fantasia may be back to her old size, but the single mother says: “I’m always going to keep my booty!”

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The American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert is now a modern day heart-throb with his eclectic style, black eyeliner and seductive music. But before the 27-year-old made it big in the music industry he dealt with self-esteem issues as a chubby teenager. He told Ok Magazine,

“I lost probably about forty pounds about ten years ago. When I was in high school, I had bad eating habits. I ate a bunch of crap – a bunch of fast food and stuff. I learned more about what’s healthy and what’s not healthy. I used a little bit of self-control.”

He said that after losing the weight he felt better physically and also had improved self-esteem and body image. He may be slim now but that doesn’t mean he’s hitting the gym full force. When asked about his daily workout regime he simply responded that he wished he had the discipline to workout.

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Victoria Beckham’s diminishing frame reportedly drew gasps when she arrived in America to begin her stint as a guest judge on the reality TV contest American Idol.

Monica Grenfell, Posh Spice’s nutritionist, has reportedly revealed that on a recent 11-hour flight, she refused to eat.

“She’s very Audrey Hepburn looking, slim and neat. She’s strict with herself,” Grenfell said. “When she goes on business lunches she’ll choose white fish and she’ll often pick at things rather than have big sit down meals.”

But is Posh taking her diet too far? The 35-year-old’s tiny size has sparked health concerns across America when she greeted fans outside the Idols studios. Is she too thin?

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International chef Jamie Oliver, and American Idol host Ryan Seacrest are teaming up to do a reality show that will make over the eating habits of America’s fattest cities.  As of yet there is no title for the series and ABC has ordered only six episodes.  In the series, Jamie Oliver will travel to the unhealthiest cities in the USA and work with members of the community to educate them on using local resources to improve their diets.

In the past, Jamie Oliver has done a lot to spread the word about healthy eating, and not just on his cooking show.  In 2005 he did a four part documentary  called Jamie’s School Dinners where he worked with school and government officials in the UK to improve the quality of public school lunches.  Then, in 2008 he produced the series Jamie’s Ministry of Food, where he went to South Yorkshire and taught locals how to cook healthy meals.

This new show will be produced by Ryan Seacrest as he has a personal interest in the subject matter since he has described himself as a chubby child when younger.  In one of Seacrest’s KISS-FM morning shows he said,

“I’m a firm believer that the fuel we put into our body results in a healthy lifestyle. Jamie’s going to come over here, roll up his sleeves and use the resources of each town to help condition living habits to make it a better and healthier place.”

Below is the list of America’s fattest cities according to Men’s Fitness Magazine:

1. Miami FL

2. Oklahoma City OK

3. San Antonio TX

4. Las Vegas NV

5. New York NY

6. Houston TX

7. El Paso TX

8. Jacksonville FL

9. Charlotte NC

10. Louisville-Jefferson KY

From the looks of that list surely Jamie and Ryan will be heading to Texas and Florida!

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American Idol Judge and 1980s pop star Paula Abdul is now an official endorser for the eco-friendly fitness products line, G2.  In the photo above she is holding the company’s new self-guiding stretch mat ( G2 Golf Stretch Mat (Women’s Yellow): Eco Friendly, Patented Thick Cushion, Washable Non-slip, Bacteria Resistant – World’s Only Self Guided Stretch Mat ) which is illustrated with stretch positions and key exercises for maintaining an injury-free body.  Paula said,

“Great health and fitness are essential to my happiness.”

Paula uses the back mat, the yoga mat and other products all to help with her chronic back pain and to have the ability to continue on with what she loves, cheerleading and dancing.

“I strengthen and increase the flexibility of key muscles, reducing my pain and tension and allowing me to continue performing the activities I enjoy most like dancing and cheerleading.”

G2 sells all kinds of equipment for both the home and commercial use.  The self-guiding stretch mat is $45 to $50 and includes access to instructional videos to learn how to do the stretches properly.

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American Idol winner Jordin Sparks oozes the same confidence as other winners such as Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson when it comes to body image.  She did tell Ok! Magazine that she does some hiking and bike riding when at home, and she strives to eat healthily, but when it comes to the pressures of being ultra-thin in Hollywood she isn’t so concerned about it.

“I’m all up for working out and being healthy and eating right, but I don’t have to be a size four and I’ll never be a size four,” the Arizona native says. “If I ever get to that, you have permission to say ‘Jordin, what the heck is wrong with you?’ because I would blow over.”

Jordin also admitted that she’s very happy with the body she has.

“I love the way I look. I love my curves, I love being able to fill out a dress and be like ‘Yeah, I look really good today.’ But I do have my days where I feel like ‘I really wish I could stay inside right now.’”

When asked if she has ever done a crash diet, Jennifer explains that she was raised by a family that taught healthy eating habits and isn’t keen on quick fix diets.

“My mom raised me pretty good, and was always like ‘eat in moderation’ and everything is really good. My dad, I mean, he played football, so we’ve always been a really active family, but I’ve never done a crazy crash diet thing. Those are always really scary, bad for you, bad for your health.”

Kara DioGuardi, a song writer and latest American Idol judge recently opened up about her past and said that when she was younger she had an eating disorder.  She told Extra,

“I had kind of a binge eating disorder where instead of dealing with my emotions, I would stuff them down with food.  I actually went into a treatment center for it.”

The 38-year-old songstress said she never induced vomiting nor starved herself but there was an emotional connection to her excessive eating.  She explained,

“It was definitely that excess eating to kind of just stuff all the emotions down … I really was a creative kid who didn’t know she was creative and didn’t have those outlets because I was always afraid to join the theater group and not perform.” She continues, “The moment I started doing music, the moment I did what I loved to do in my life and committed to it, I don’t have those problems anymore … I have my outlet.  I have that form of expression. I can go to the studio and talk about my feelings.”

In hopes of helping others with addictions, Ms. DioGuardi has built a recording studio in a Los Angeles treatment center, Phoenix House.  Music is a therapeutic technique to help addicts recover.  She said she still has moments where she feels she has to be perfect but she has continued to control her former binge-eating habits.

“But I made this commitment in my life to face my fears,” says DioGuardi, “and if I am afraid of something I make sure I do it.”

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Carrie Underwood, former American Idol winner and now Grammy Award Winner opens up to Ok Magazine as to how she keeps fit.  Carrie, the vegetarian, talked about her motivations for weight loss.  She said,

“I don’t really have time to eat junk food.  I do so good when I have a goal,” Carrie says. “I’m like ‘I’ve gotta look good because I’ve gotta wear this, that and the other,’ so I’m really good but I’m so off-the-wagon right now.”

She also talked about her workouts.  She explained,

“My legs have always been really muscular.  Actually, if I work them out a lot, they can get, like, really big, so I do lots of squats and running. I work out four to six days a week. Even if I don’t do a lot, I just do cardio. It makes me feel better.”

Lastly, Carrie responded to a question about the pressures to be thin as an international celebrity.  She stated,

“I don’t think — for me, at least — there’s a pressure to be thin. I think there’s a pressure to be healthy because I go on the road. Last year, we did 148 live shows. We did so many concert dates. We were out on the road for months at a time, so for me it was a pressure to be healthy for myself, because if I wasn’t, then I’d get sick or I’d have a lot of problems when I was on the road.”